Yuki's Love
by dokithump
Summary: Kyo doesn't exist in this. A girl with orange hair, red eyes, strangely feline qualities and also a secret meets the Mysterious Yuki. Will they become friends? Or something more...
1. Chapter 1

I

The strange girl slowly slid the door to her new classroom open. A mask of indifference and what she hoped appeared to be self-confidence washed over her face. Fear is a weakness.

As she stepped inside, the teacher stopped her lecture and looked her over. After a moment that lasted forever, a look of comprehension passed over her face. "Oh you must be Ms. Yami." She said, a fake smile plastered on her countenance. "Class, this is Mikatora Yami. She will be a new student in our homeroom." She paused for a moment: waiting for a greeting, or perhaps just letting this information sink in, Mikatora wasn't too sure.

She then gestured toward a boy with silvery-purple hair. "Yuki, you will be guiding Mikatora around for the next few days." She then turned to the girl. "Ms. Yami, this is Yuki Sohma. He is the class president and will be your escort until you get better acquainted with this facility and your fellow classmates." He bowed slightly towards the new student and she hesitantly returned the motion.  
"It's very nice to meet you, Ms. Mikatora." He said politely.

_Well he seems nice enough._ Mikatora thought.

She couldn't help but notice, however, the glares that she was receiving from most of the girls in class. She did a mental check over to see that if it was she who was offending them so, but there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. It could be, of course, her appearance in general. Mikatora looked anything but normal. It wasn't her fault, though, that she was born with carrot orange hair, or bright red eyes. She then realized that he was waiting for a reply.

"Um, hi, please call me Mika." That was all she said. She had found, over the years, that it was best to say as little as possible. This was for many reasons.

It would avoid unnecessary questions about her family (or lack thereof)

People wouldn't run the risk of sparking her temper (It's just so damn hard to control.)

And most importantly

People wouldn't get close to her (they could find out…)

Mika sat in an open seat next to Yuki. The teacher began her lecture again. It was science. Mika took careful notes, even though she didn't need to. She was pretty smart without studying too hard, usually maintaining an A grade. But people wouldn't bother her if they thought she was busy.

Why is she so darn antisocial?

Long story.


	2. Chapter 2

II

The small girl, barely eight years old bent over, crying out in pain. The woman whom she had called mother for the past four years simply watched, her face a picture of mortification and disgust. She didn't make a move to help. The small child reached out to her, expelling the last of her strength. Something flickered in the eyes of the old lady; pity perhaps? Regret? She still didn't help.

The child fixed her concentration on her mother. She didn't want to think about the pain. The woman's husband, the man who she had just recently learned to call daddy beat her small frame, bruising more than just her skin. Then the pain changed, sharp this time. The small hand felt her stomach, now warm with blood. He had taken a knife from the kitchen and stabbed her. His expression was horrifying, the girl had never seen anything more terrifying. Then there was nothing.

Only darkness.

The girl woke up in a room with stunningly white walls. To her horror, she found that she was connected to a strange machine! Her young mind whirled in fear, and every image of alien abduction and scientific experimentation clouded her thoughts. The truth, however, soon became clear. Her mother wanted her dead. Her father tried to kill her.

Or maybe… she was dead already? She looked at the needle in her forearm. It was connected to a bag with red water in it. Blood?! Were they taking her blood? She made a move to rip it out but a large, warm being gently moved her hand away. "No no, you can't take that out, honey." A friendly voice said. "You've lost a lot of blood so we're giving you some. Now go to sleep"  
It was then she realized how tired she was. So she did as the voice said, and soon she was sound asleep.

When she woke up, a man in a black suit was sitting by her bed. He asked how she was feeling. The girl didn't respond. He smiled, a gold tooth twinkling. "Now honey," he began, his voice becoming more serious. "Where are your mommy and daddy? Do you know your address? They must be very worried and I will call them for you. It's ok to tell me."

She didn't answer at first. Her little hands clenched into fists. "Mommy doesn't want me anymore." She choked out.

"Now honey," the man said, "Did you run away from home? Do you know who did this to you? I promise you won't get in trouble for telling."

"Daddy says I'm a devil. He says I brought this on myself."

"So it was your father who attacked you."

She didn't reply.

"What's your name, sweetie?" He asked, smiling again.

"Mika,"

"So Mika, where did you live?"

Even though she was young, she still noticed that he said where did you live, instead of where do you live.

"What's your address?"

"Dunno,"

"Do you know the city?"

"No"

"Do you know the country?" he asked, rolling his eyes.

"No."

He looked at her, surprised. "You don't know what country you live in?"

"I wasn't allowed to leave the house."

"How could they do that to you?" he asked, leaning forward.

Mika suddenly got very angry. Just who was this man? Why did he care? Mama didn't do anything wrong, it was her fault, it was none of this strange mans' business! She wasn't even supposed to talk to strangers, it wasn't any of his business!

The anger was welling up inside of her. She yanked the IV from her arm and leapt onto the floor, prepared to fight the Man in the Black Suit. The blood loss and pain from her wound caught up with her. She collapsed to the floor in a dead faint.

She woke to the sound of voices nearby.

"I just can't understand how a person could do this to a child," said a calm, warm voice.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Raising a kid can be a lot of work." This voice Mika recognized as the Man In the Black Suit.

"Yes, I will fill out all the necessary paperwork," said the warm man.

That's how Dr. Hojo Yami became Mikatora's legal guardian.

Mika stayed in the hospital for many weeks after that, but most of the days were hazy, and she couldn't remember them well. She did get to know the warm man very well, though. He stopped by her room every day, with flowers, chocolates, or even little stuffed animals. He soon learned to not bring cats though, because the first time he brought a little orange cat (he thought it was cute) Mika screamed and cried and nearly tore out her stitches.

The night he brought her home as his daughter however, he Found Out.

He said it didn't matter what she was, or what she turned in to. "I will always take care of you." he said to her. He then made a move as if he was going to hug her, but then just held her little hands and sighed; playing with the black and white beads that were on her wrist.

That bracelet had been a gift of Mika's real mother, her birth mother. Mika didn't know who she was or why she abandoned her when she was only an infant, only that she wanted her to wear the bracelet. She had never taken it off before.

The next few years were hard, but the Doctor was there, every step of the way. Mika had never been so happy in her previous household, here she was accepted, at least by someone. She still couldn't leave the house very often, the Doctor said he was 'Protecting' her, but she was still happy. It was as though her life had really began.

Seven years later, however, everything changed when the doctor went out on that rainy night to see a rush patient. He never came home.

"We are gathered here today to mourn the loss of our good friend, and excellent father, Dr Hojo Yami." The pale priest droned on.

Mika could barely hear him through her grief. It wasn't fair. It wasn't FAIR. It seemed as though Mika could never be happy again. The only person who had accepted her had died.

Car accident. It wasn't an accident. That Stupid Bastard shouldn't have been drinking. It was his fault for murdering the Doctor.

He was sorry, though. He had gotten on his knees and apologized to Mika for what he had done.

The Doctor had always been a nice, forgiving man, After all, he forgave her for being what she was. So now she would forgive this man. For the Doctor's sake.

Before he had died, the Doctor had paid tuition to a rather good high school. He had been a wealthy man, but Mika's inheritance wasn't much, because he wanted most of his money to be donated. She was left just enough to get a small apartment near her school. So that's what she did.

Mikatora walked into her new home. It smelled. Bad. It was also very small. Her head nearly touched the ceiling, and she wasn't all that tall. The wallpaper was peeling, and she was informed that there was no heating or air conditioning. Shit. Oh well. She rummaged through her suitcase to find some money. Got to get a job, got to buy furniture.


	3. Chapter 3

(It was science class if you forgot)

Science class ended. Yuki got up and walked toward Mika's desk.

"How was your first class?" he inquired politely.

"Fine" She replied, not making eye contact.

"What's your next class?" He asked, still all politeness.

"Um…" She checked her schedule. "History." She said.

"Oh, well I have to leave school early today for family reasons, so I wonder of someone else will be willing to show you the way?" He asked, looking around the classroom to see if anyone seemed interested in guiding her.

"I will! I will Yuki! I have History too!" An overexcited girl practically screamed, flailing her arms as if to get him to notice her.

"Thank you Midori." He replied, a calm smile on his face.

Normally, in this situation, someone would be flattered, or annoyed if someone of the opposite gender tried so hard to get attention, but Yuki… he had an unusual look.

Was it sadness?

No, more like loneliness.

That was odd, why would someone as popular as him be lonely?

Mika unwillingly found herself wondering if he had a girlfriend… such a strange boy…

The girl called Midori broke Mika's train of thought by practically dragging her out of the classroom, smiling hugely. As soon as they had walked out the door, however, the smile vanished and she glared at her, immeasurable hatred in her eyes. A bunch of other girls from her class soon followed her, the same look mirrored in all of their faces. "Don't think that the Prince will ever see anything in you. So don't even try. He's only talking to you because the teacher asked him to."

_Oh. _Mika thought. _They like Yuki. That's probably the reason why all the girls were glaring at me in class._

Midori was still talking. "We are the Prince Yuki fan club, and we will always protect the Prince from anyone who tries to steal him away!"

"Yeah" a smaller girl piped in.

Mika smirked. "if you like him so much, why don't you take it up with him and let _me_ get to class"

Midori glared at you again, and then turned around sharply and walked away, the other girls following close behind.

_Now how will I know how to get to the History room?_

Mika thought.

Oh well.

It was a nice day to skip class, and now she even had an excuse. She found her way to the front door, and stepped outside, the sunlight streaming onto her face. She decided to tour the grounds. On her trek, she noticed an emergency stairwell, which started on the second floor and led all the way to the roof. She leapt up from the ground and caught the edge of it. (She had always been good at jumping) She climbed it to the top, of course. She loved being up high. When she got up there, she noticed that the regular indoor staircase led all the way up here, too. That was a good thing to know, now she could sneak up here in free classes. She lay down on the cement, cool despite the warm sun. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

A loud bell woke her up, and she immediately checked her watch. The school day was over, and that meant that it was time to go to work.

Mika had gotten a part time job at a hospital, mostly cleaning. Her only work partners were two old ladies who giggled and gossiped more than worked.

Some had it so easy.

Mikatora, however, worked as hard as she could. Hard work meant more pay in the long run (or so she hoped) and plus, the Doctor never did a half-assed job, and he had taught her well. the only problem with working in a hospital was that everything reminded her of him. Even the smell, the biting smell of medicine and cleanliness was the same one that he had every day when he returned from work.

Mika hoped that she could earn enough money from this job to get a heater installed before winter. She only had one blanket in her drafty apartment, and it wasn't exactly warm.

She worked until late in the night, wanting to give her boss a good impression. When she finally got home to her building, she slowly made her way up the stairs. Eight flights seemed like a whole lot more then that, especially when there was no elevators. As soon as she walked through the door, she flopped down on her blanket and pillow that served as her temporary bed, and fell asleep.

Luckily, she didn't dream.


	4. Chapter 4

IV

The next day, after walking to school, Mikatora was suddenly ambushed by her homeroom teacher. "Where did you go yesterday?" She asked, frustration and annoyance on her face. "I don't know about your other school, but here we do not take skipping lightly. Usually we would call your father about this, but because it was your first day, I will let you off with a warning. Now do you have an explanation?" She asked, speaking very fast.

"Oh I'm sorry." Mika replied." I felt sick so I went home."

"Oh." The teacher said awkwardly. This wasn't the reply she expected. "Well at this school, you go to the health office if we are sick and the nurse decides if you may leave school."

"Oh gosh!" Mika said, trying not to make her sarcasm glaringly obvious. "I guess I didn't know. At my other school, we would just go home if we felt ill."

(Lies!!!!)

"Well now that you know the policy… I guess you can just get to class."

The teacher said uncomfortably.

Mika walked away before she could say anything else.

Mika slumped down in her seat, sighing. Something the teacher had said was bothering her. She said that she would call her father if she skipped again. That means that the school had not been told that her guardian had died. Oh well. It was probably better this way. She hadn't been sure as to how they would react to a fifteen year old living alone.

"Excuse me."

"Excuse me."

"Mikatora!"

She had been too lost in her thoughts to hear the calling, but when her name was mentioned, she felt a flash of annoyance. She HATED to be called Mikatora. She went by Mika now. She looked up to see who had committed the offense. It was Yuki.

"I heard you left school yesterday. Didn't Midori show you to your class?"

He asked, looking confused.

"I was sick so I left." Mika replied, curtly, looking away.

He stared at her, as if he knew she was lying and was trying to pull the truth out with his eyes. She could feel his eyes boring into the side of her head. She turned right back, with eyes that dared him to challenge her.

"Ok." He said, putting his hands up in defeat. Then he did something truly odd.

He sighed, as if he really cared about the truth. Mika noticed that look in his eyes again… that lonely look. It kind of pissed her off. It wasn't any of his business, so why should he care?

The next class was gym. That was good news, because Mika had always been athletic. The doctor had even paid for karate lessons, and she was the top of her class by a long shot.

The gym teacher was a short man, but he was huge none the less, the kind of man whose muscles bulged, with thick, hairy arms and legs. The first thing she thought of when she saw him was a gorilla with a whistle around its neck. That thought made her chuckle to herself.

"Today," he barked, his voice boomingly loud. "We will begin the self defense unit."

_What good luck!_ Mika thought. _Just hope my partner doesn't piss me off, or else they'll be in trouble!_

"Ok, class, pick your partners!"

There was a sudden scrambling as everyone moved to their friends, hoping that they wouldn't have to pair up with someone that they didn't know.

Mika simply waited until everyone had found their partners, and waited to see who was left.

"I guess we're partners then, Mikatora." Said a familiar voice. Mika felt the flash of irritation again, with the sound of her full name. She turned to see it was Yuki, the last one without a partner. She had thought for sure one of his fangirls would have asked him; he seemed too polite to refuse anyone.

Mika got into her fighting stance. The gym teacher was going over the rules, but she wasn't paying attention.

This Yuki guy… Mika heard that his mysteriousness made him attractive, but that placid expression he always wore was starting to tick her off! Just what was he thinking behind those purple eyes?

The whistle blew. Mika realized that she had no idea what the teacher had asked the class to do. Oh well. She would just have to improvise. She kicked up, aiming for his head, but intentionally stopping before she hit him. He didn't even flinch. It didn't seem like he stayed still because he had slow reflexes, or he was scared, it seemed like he anticipated her foot would stop.

Mika lowered her leg. Yuki got into _his_ stance in a smooth, practiced gesture—he had obviously taken martial arts of some kind before. Good. This was going to be fun.

This time she faked a kick at his head again, but then spun around and used her other foot to get him in the side, only this time, she meant to hit him. Lightly.

Before she could even see it, he had turned around too, and blocked her kick easily. Mika started to get mad, she HATED to lose. Her blows became more rapid, she was hitting harder and harder. He blocked every strike with ease. Soon she was going full force, trying as hard as she could to land one hit, just one hit!

Without either of them noticing, the whole class had gathered around the two of them. Mika was sweating, and getting more and more annoyed.

It wasn't so much the fact that she kept missing, but the fact that he never once made an attempt to strike back. He could beat her without even trying (She could tell by how fantastically he blocked her blows) But he never tried to take the offensive.

She did hear the gorilla man roar her name. She stopped fighting and looked at him. "What did you think you were doing?" He growled. "You were supposed to practice stance only.

Mika turned to Yuki, ignoring the gym teacher. "Where did you learn to fight like that?" She asked. He didn't answer right away.

"I took a bit of Karate when I was younger." He finally replied. He said it softly, as if he didn't want people to know about it.

The rest of the class went back to their places; practicing as they should. The gym teacher sulked off, fuming, yelling at other students for no more reason then the fact that he was mad at Mika.

Before she could confront Yuki more about his martial arts abilities, the bell rang for lunch.

Mika grabbed her lunch (Yes she makes it herself) and scanned the lunchroom. She noticed Yuki was sitting by himself, reading a book and eating the school lunch. Swarms of girls were at the surrounding tables, watching him, but none dared to sit next to him.

No wonder he looked so lonely. Everyone seemed to be too much in awe over him to actually be friends with him. Without even asking, she plopped down in the seat right across from him. She did this without even thinking, but afterward, she regretted it. She wasn't supposed to get close to anyone!

Yuki put his book down and looked at her, surprise on his features.

"You looked lonely so I decided to keep you company." Mika found herself saying, looking right into his eyes.

"Oh, Ok" He said.

"So tell me," Mika began. "Are you still taking Karate?"

He smiled, and told her that he wasn't taking lessons anymore, because his master was away in a distant country.

Soon, they were both deep into a conversation, starting with karate but becoming totally unrelated topics, from music, to favorite foods, to how Yuki also agreed that the gym teacher did look rather primate-like.

Mika was surprised how easy it was to talk to him.

Judging by his expression, he was surprised too.


	5. Chapter 5

V

The rest of the day passed rather quickly. Mika and Yuki were practically friends, and they talked in the halls during passing time; just simple conversation, like "Did you hear? They're tearing down the fire escape because some students tried to break into the school," and other such small talk.

The bell rang, signifying the end of the day.

Mika picked up her backpack and started to head out the door. Yuki was there.

"Do you walk home?" he asked innocently.

"Yeah," She replied, "but I go to work before I head home."

"Oh, so where do you work?" He asked.

_What's it to him?_ She thought.

"The hospital." She finally answered.

"The hospital? That's a coincidence because I'm heading there myself!" he said.

"Why, you sick?" she asked.

"No, I'm just visiting someone." He answered. "so, why don't we walk together?"

"Ok."

He didn't have to ask. They were going in the same direction, and they were friends, weren't they?"

Whatever.

Mika had already decided that Yuki wasn't like other guys anyway.

She _was_ kind of surprised that he was walking though, because she had always thought he must be quite wealthy, and the hospital was three miles away. When she told him this, he smiled and said, "Why do you think I'm wealthy?"

"Because," she replied "You have a watch that I saw in the store, and it was as nice as a Rolex, the shoes you are wearing are obviously expensive, and that backpack is designer, even though its plain. Its got to be super expensive."

"You're really observant." He said.

"So why are you walking?" she pushed.

"Just because I'm not poor doesn't mean I have a car waiting for me at any time I choose to go out." He replied.

"So what about you?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Your dad's a doctor, isn't he? Why are _you_ walking?" he asked.

Her heart began to pound. How were you supposed to answer this one? She had told herself that she would come up with an excuse if someone asked about her family, but at mentioning The Doctor, her tongue froze. She couldn't think.

She looked down so that Yuki wouldn't be able to see her face, to see the truth.

Yuki did notice her reaction, however, and decided to let the subject drop. They walked the rest of the way in silence.

When they arrived at the hospital, however Yuki spoke again. "When do you get off work?" he asked.

"Um, it'll be around eleven or eleven thirty." Mika replied.

"Eleven thirty?" he said, surprised. "that's really late!"

"Not really," Mika replied. "Besides, I need the money."

"So your dad comes to get you at eleven thirty at night?" He asked.

"No, I walk home. She replied.

"But it's dangerous to walk so late at night, especially in this neighborhood."

"I take Karate, remember?"

"Still, it's not safe…" he said, biting his lower lip, looking concerned.

"Well," Mika said, "I live really close; I can practically see my place from here. Now, I have to get to work." She concluded, and strode up into the hospital.

It wasn't exactly a lie, she did live within a few miles, and she had said she could _practically_ see it, no she could _actually_ see it.

The whole time she was working, she was afraid he would come and pick her up. She could barely concentrate; all her thoughts were on him, waiting at the front gate, smiling, telling her he was going to walk her home…

Luckily he wasn't there when she got off of work. She breathed a sigh of relief. she was happy he didn't come and get her. Wasn't she?

**AUTHORS NOTE: This passage gets kind of confusing so I drew a map for it and put it on a friends deviantART account. The account name is ninjaxxbyxxnight and the title is MAP. You don't have to look at it but if you get confused you can.**

POV Yuki

_I really hope Shigure doesn't notice I'm gone; he will never let it drop if he knew I snuck out…_

He crept around the corner; the hospital was in plain sight now. He had arrived just as the red headed girl was leaving the hospital.

_Perfect timing_

He ducked as she looked around

_Is she waiting for someone? Maybe her dad is going to give her a ride after all…_

_Wait, why am I ducking? Why should I hide? I'm simply a concerned friend._

The red headed girl started walking down the dimly lit streets.

Yuki followed.

_God, I feel like a stalker. What if she notices me? I can just imagine the conversation._

"_Oh hi! Yeah, I've been following from the shadows because I was concerned for you! Don't mind me..."_

_It's not like I'll be trailing her for long, though, _Yuki mused _She said she lived really close to the hospital._

Yuki followed her for what felt like ages; it must have been at least three miles. Then suddenly, he recognized his surroundings. They were back at the school.

_Did she forget something?_ He thought.

Instead of going inside, she just kept walking past it.

After a few more miles, Yuki recognized more familiar surroundings.

_Sohma property? Certainly she doesn't live here._

She scaled the tall fence that surrounded the territory.

Yuki hesitated for a second (He hadn't intended to return to this place) but curiosity got the better of him and he followed her. He passed the familiar houses—all the inhabitants asleep for the night. He prayed he wouldn't run into anyone he knew… particularly the ones he loathed to see.

Instead of entering one of the houses like Yuki expected, she walked right to another wall and jumped over that too.

_Oh I guess it was just a short cut._

She walked to a shabby building and began to go inside of it.

_She lives here?_ Yuki thought, astonished.

_It looks like it's about to fall over! I thought doctors made a lot of money, so why are they living in such conditions?_

Then another thought struck him.

_Maybe its one of those places that looks awful on the outside but is really nice on the inside, to thwart thieves and protect celebrities. _

He decided that must be it, and, satisfied that she got home safe; he began his long trek home.

End Yuki POV


	6. Chapter 6

The next day at school Mika sat down for science and looked to her left. Yuki's seat was empty.

_That's strange, school's about to begin and I didn't think Yuki was the kind of person to be late._ Mika thought.

Just as the bell rang, a stranger came in. His hair was messy, his tie was askew, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

Then Mika realized who it was. "Yuki?" she laughed. "You look like shit, what happened?"

After being chided for swearing by the teacher, she said in a softer voice, "Didn't you get any sleep last night?"

"Not really," was the reply "Is it that obvious?"

"Yeah, it is. Where were you?" Mika responded

Mika fixed his tie as he answered her question. "I went… for a walk, but I… miscalculated the distance. I didn't get home until daybreak."

The teacher then began her lecture, and they stopped talking. Mika looked over at his desk several times, and each time he was asleep, keeping his head propped up with his hands to fool the teacher—after all no one expected the perfect Yuki to sleep in class.

The rest of the day was pretty boring for Mika, seeing as the one person she really was friends with was in a daze all day. She basically reverted back to the first day of school, keeping her eyes down and pretending to be busy. She also did some thinking.

_Perhaps I should stop being friends with Yuki. I can't get close to anyone—even Yuki would hate me, maybe even try to kill me too. That would be a problem, he is much stronger then me…"_

She looked to where Yuki was sitting; his head had fallen and he was drooling on his desk.

She chuckled. _I guess I can stay friends with him for a while longer. I just have to make sure he doesn't hug, or even touch me._

Many days passed, and Mika's thoughts about staying away from Yuki had all but dissapeared. The two of them had become good friends, and they spent a lot of time together in school.

One day while walking home from school, Mika noticed something. It was a girl from her school, whose name was Nana, if she remembered correctly.

_What is she doing in a neighborhood like this?_ Thought Mika.

Nana was very small, and from what Mika had seen, very shy as well. There were three guys around her, all looking at her in a way that even Mika (who was quite a distance away) could tell what they were thinking, and what they wanted from her. It was just as obvious that Nana did not want the attention. Mika took pity on her, and walked over.

"Hey." She said to Nana.

"Come on, lets go." She said, hoping that the men would just leave when they thought that she wasn't alone. They had other things in mind, however. One of them grabbed her arm.

"Hey, can't you see we're busy? We're trying to have a conversation so get outta here," he said. She could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Let go of me." Mika said. Before he had a chance, however, she took advantage of his drunken off-balance and flipped him off of his feet. He landed with a thud. He got up quickly. His friends faces turned from amusement to anger. Mika got into her fighting stance. _This could be bad. _She thought, realizing that she might have done something extremely stupid. Before anything happened, however, a patrolling policeman came over having sensed the trouble.

"Is anything wrong?" he asked, obviously directing the question at the girls, but not taking his eyes off of the men.

"No officer." The men said, not drunk enough to pick a fight with a cop.

Realizing that it was time to leave, the men walked away.

_Well that was lucky_ Mika thought _I didn't even think there _were_ policemen around here_

Seeing as the excitement was over, Mika started to leave, but stopped when she saw Nana's face.

She was crying. Hard.

"Hey, what is it?" Mika asked, but that only made her howl harder.

"I th-thought they were gonna do something h-horrible to me." She choked between her sobs.

"Hey, stop crying, stop crying! You're fine! Its ok…"

Nana didn't stop.

"Th-thank you s-s-so much, Mika, you saved m-me." She said.

"Uh, no, the policeman did… I didn't really…" Mika stuttered. People were starting to stare at Nana; she was bawling so loudly.

"Its ok, hey, I'll walk you home ok?" Mika said.

"No, my moms coming to… Mom!"

A short dark haired woman came running towards them "Nana! Nana!" She screamed, causing just as much of a scene as her daughter. "What happened, why are you crying?"

Mika left before she could hear anything else, she really didn't want to have to explain the story again, or be thanked for something she didn't really do.

Plus, she was late for work.

"You haven't been working here long so don't expect any leniency. Be late again and you're fired." Her boss said, his face completely serious.

Jeeze. Talk about over-reacting.

The next day at school was very boring. There was no school that Friday (it's a Wednesday) so everyone was talking about what they were going to do for the three day weekend.

The English teacher was pretty laid back, and had realized hat no one would be paying attention, so she told everyone that they could have a free study period, but of course, no one really studied.

Yuki, however, went to the library to print something off. Since he was the only one worth talking to in the class, Mika pulled out a book and began to read. Before she could really start it, however, a girl pulled her chair across from hers and pulled the book from her hands. It was Midori, the girl who was supposed to take Mika to history the first day of school.

She reached across the desk and put her hand on Mika's shoulder. She quickly brushed it off.

"I hate being touched." She said.

(If people touched her they could discover her secret)

"I notice you've been talking to Yuki a lot lately." She said. "I thought I warned you to stay away from him." She tried her best to look menacing.

Another girl walked over.

"Yeah, it's not fair, you keeping him all to yourself. Yuki belongs to all of us." She said.

Mika picked up her book again. She didn't want to listen to such nonsense. Midori took the book again, this time throwing it to the floor. Mika didn't want to risk a fight; after all, the teacher was still in the same room as them.

"Yuki doesn't belong to you either. He doesn't 'belong' to anyone. He can choose who he wants to hang out with." Mika said, careful to keep her voice down.

"We can't have some witch tempting him with her seductive magics!" a girl standing behind Mika said.

Mika laughed outright at this.

"I'm not seducing him; we're not even going out." She said, chuckling.

"Then why is he always with you?" the girls asked.

"He probably feels sorry for you. It's not like you have any other friends here. Plus you look so weird. Why do you dye your hair like that? You look like a freak." Midori said.

Mika managed to keep her cool.

"I don't dye my hair." She said through gritted teeth.

"Oh right, and I guess that's your actual eye color too?" Midori asked sarcastically.

"Why yes it is, I don't wear contacts." Mika replied, opening her eyes wide for her to see.

She looked. "Oh so I guess you're not just dressing up as a freak, you _are_ a freak." Then she started to laugh.

"Midori!" A well-known voice said. "that's not nice, apologize to Mikatora!"

Yuki had come back from the library

This was the first time Mika saw him actually lose his cool, and almost look mad.

"Yuki!" Midori said, looking shocked.

"How long have you been there?"

"Long enough." Was all he said.

The bell rang—the day was over. Mika grabbed her bag and left, walking right by Yuki, not daring to look him in the face. Her head was spinning and her heart was thumping. All she was thinking was _Why him? Why did he have to see me like that?_ She should have said something different. She was hoping with all her might that he didn't hear what she said about no one owning him. She didn't know why, but for some reason she was really embarrassed.

She could hear him calling her name behind her, but she didn't turn around. She didn't want him to see how red her face was.

On her way home, an idea occurred to her. Her boss had given her the day off, so maybe she could go paint shopping. She had saved up a bit of money (Not enough to buy a heater though) Her apartment wouldn't seem so bad if it had a coat of paint.

Being without a car sucked. The nearest store that sold paint was miles away—too far to walk with such little time. She ended up having to take a bus there, but the nearest bus stop was over a mile away from her house.

Mika couldn't decide on a color, so she just bought some white base paint to cover the peeling, yellowing walls, but now she would have to go all the way back to the store once she decided on a color.

She took the bus back, and began to walk the mile and a half home. Thunder rumbled in the distance. _Oh no. _It began to rain. She broke into a run; she hated the rain! Mika was near her house now, just a couple more blocks. She rounded a corner at top speed, and saw at the last second someone running straight towards her. She managed to dodge really quickly, and avoided running into him. In doing so, however, she lost her balance and fell right onto her backside into a puddle. The cheap, plastic paint bucket broke, splashing all over her. Mika looked up to see who she nearly collided with.

It was Yuki.

He was soaking wet, now with paint splattered on him, and was looking down at her with a peculiar expression on his face.

His lips turned upwards, and to Mika's great surprise, he started to laugh.

"What?" She yelled. "You think me falling is funny?" Her face turned red again.

"No, no, I'm sorry." He said. "It's just your face, your expression was so…"

He started to laugh again. It wasn't a mean laugh; it was just a soft chuckle.

He then grabbed her hands and tried to pull her to her feet.

She yanked her hands away. "I'm sorry." She said. "I really don't like being touched."

"Oh, sorry." He said.

Then he sneezed.

"How long have you been out here?" Mika asked, getting to her feet.

"A while; I was visiting some relatives and afterwards I decided to go for a walk, but I… got caught in the weather." He said.

"Oh, so do you live near here?" She asked.

"No, actually I live near the train station." He replied.

"That's miles away! Can't you get a ride?" Mika asked, startled.

"No, I'll just walk." He sneezed again. Another peal of thunder echoed through the streets.

"Look, just come to my place to dry off and wait out the storm." Mika offered.

_No! Wait! What am I thinking! I can't have Yuki at my house! _Mika thought too late. She couldn't very well take back the offer, and what did it matter? They were friends.

"Thanks," Yuki said.

They walked into her apartment building. "It's kind of a ways up." Mika said.

They climbed the eight flights without saying a word to each other. Mika felt like she could feel his eyes on the back of her head, judging her. They finally reached her room.

Oh how she wished she had painted the walls already!

There were only two rooms in her apartment, the bathroom and the kitchen/mainroom/bedroom.

"I need to shower." Mika said, paint splashed all over her.

"Ok," Yuki said.

Mika washed quickly, not liking the idea of Yuki roaming her apartment. Not like she had anything to hide, though.

"You can take a shower if you want." Mika said to him when she was done.

"Thank you," he said.

Then she noticed the picture he was holding.

"Is this your father?" He asked.

It was a picture of The Doctor. Mika snatched it away and held it close.

"You've got paint on you." Mika said. "You should shower before it dries.

Mika could hear the water running in the shower. She decided to make tea; that would be the best if he had a cold.

She thought of all the girls at school, what would they do if they new that Yuki was naked in her apartment?

She pushed those kinds of thoughts from her mind. Yuki was just her friend. Plus, he would never think of her that way. Not that she thought of him that way.

She jumped as the tea kettle whistled. She got up and tended to it. It was then that Yuki came out of the bathroom. Mika had dried his clothes for him, but they were all wrinkled and still had faint paint marks. His hair was messy too.

He looked so ridiculous that she started to laugh.

"Hey, you gave me a hard time for laughing at you." he said.

"Yeah but you look ridiculous." She said as she got up and grabbed him a comb. He combed his hair as she poured him a cup of tea.

Mika looked out of her small window at the night outside.

"It doesn't seem to be letting up." She said.

She couldn't even look at him, she was sure that he was grimacing at the state of her apartment while wishing he was somewhere else.

"Um, I'll try for a ride again." He said, fumbling with his cell phone.

"Hello Shigure? Is Hatori there? Can you ask him to give me a ride home?" He asked into the phone.

Mika made it look like she was busy with the tea, but she was listening to every word.

"No, no, I'm at a friends house, yes, because of the weather. No, no! Yes, it's a girl, but… No! Not that kind of… We didn't… We're not... Hello? Hello?

He turned to Mika.

"He hung up on me." He said.

Mika wondered exactly what that… Shigure person said.

Hours past.  
Mika and Yuki were talking, and having a good time. Soon, however, it was really late. Yuki still couldn't get a ride and no hotels were near enough to make a difference.

Quite a predicament.

"It's ok." Yuki said. "I can just walk home."

"Are you crazy?" Mika retorted.

"It's nearly midnight, and you wouldn't get there until dawn."

"Then what are we going to do?"

_Good question._

"I guess you'll just have to stay here." She finally said.

"Is that really ok?"

"Why wouldn't it be; we're friends, remember?"

"Um.. If you're sure…" He said.

Mika really didn't know what his problem was. All of a sudden, he was acting all awkward and wouldn't even look her in the face.

Mika went to her drawer and got out her baggiest sweat pants and loosest t shirt. She handed them to him and said, "Wear these. You shouldn't sleep in your uniform because you're going to have to wear it tomorrow." She then handed him her pillow and blanket.

He thanked her.

"Where's yours?" He asked.

"Um… I just haven't gotten it out yet." She said, not wanting him to know that he had her only bed.

She then walked into the bathroom. She would wait until he fell asleep, then she would fall asleep herself on the floor, so he wouldn't feel like he was taking her bedding.

_Even though he was…_

After about ten minutes, she walked back out, not wanting him to wonder what she was doing in there.

To her great surprise, he was already asleep! And by the looks of it, he had been out for a while.

The next day, Mika got up early to wash Yuki's uniform. It was her fault that paint had gotten on it, and he wouldn't have time to go home before school. She felt odd, doing his laundry, it made her feel like a housewife. Luckily the Laundromat wasn't too far away from her apartment, and she walked back to wake up Yuki with enough time for him to get ready.

_It's really as if I'm his wife._

She chuckled at the thought. Imagine someone like Yuki, choosing someone like her!

She opened the door to see Yuki already awake. He was looking at the picture of the Doctor again.

"What are you doing?" Mika said, louder and harsher then she intended. Yuki calmly looked up at her.

"Mikatora, why didn't your father come home last night?" He asked.

"Because sometimes he stays overnight working at the hospital." Mika said confidently. After all, when he was alive, he would do that often.

"If that's true, Mikatora, why is this apartment made for one person?" He asked, still very, very calm.

"Its not, we just share this room, we're poor, got a problem with that?" She said, her temper rising.

"A doctor can't afford a nicer apartment?" he asked

"He gave all his money to charity." Mika truthfully replied.

"So poor that you share one toothbrush?" He asked.

"Were you snooping around my house?" Mika asked, getting angrier and angrier.

"No, I happened to use the bathroom, and I happened to see. I also happened to see that you only have one place for storing clothes, and that's where you got _your_ clothes out of. Plus, wouldn't you have given me your dads pajamas rather than your own?" he asked.

Mika was stumped with that one. He was so observant that it pissed her off.

"What happened to your father, Mikatora?"

She could feel her face turning bright red, and she threw his clothes at him and said, "Shut up, what do you know! Stop being so confident and acting like you know everything! Get dressed and then find your own damn way to school! And by the way, MY NAME IS MIKA! She shouted and slammed the door. One of her neighbors had opened their door to see what the racket was, but Mika didn't care. She stormed right past, with tears streaming down her face.

**Please comment!**


	7. Chapter 7

On her way to school, her mind was in a whirl.

_I have to stop being friends with him; he's too observant. That's it—I'll never speak to him again. Yes, it shouldn't be too hard, it's not like we've known each other very long, right?_

She walked quickly all the way to school, and plunked down into her desk. She sighed deeply, and then looked up. every one was staring at her! She quickly wiped her face—was she still crying? She didn't feel anything wet against her hand. Then she realized.

There were cats. Cats everywhere. In front of her, behind her, one jumped up and clung to the front of her shirt. They weaved through her feet and jumped onto her lap.

Her face turned bright red.

"Um, Mika?"

The teacher asked, looking perplexed

"Yeah, what?" Mika asked; more anger in her voice then she intended.

"Um… Pets aren't allowed in school."

"They aren't mine! They just followed me." Mika said, still angry.

"Just… get rid of them Mika." The teacher said, exasperated.

Mika got up and shooed them out of the school.

Yuki did find his way to school on time, and he sat down, trying to make eye contact with Mika, but she didn't look up.

"Well class, I guess it'll just be a silent study period today." The teacher said.

_No, no, no! _Mika thought. _We just _had _a study period yesterday ! If we have one now, it'll give Yuki a chance to ask me about…_

Her train of thought was broken when Yuki got up and sat back down in the seat right across from her.

"Listen, about earlier," he began. "I want you to tell me what is going on."

"No talking, class." The teacher interrupted.

"You heard the teacher, so shut up." Mika said, without looking up.

"Tell me." He persisted.

"Students, _No Talking_" the teacher insisted

Why do you want to know so bad?" Mika said, her voice getting louder , ignoring the teachers shushings "Why do you care so much!" She said, standing up, her chair falling from her sudden movement.

"Shh!" said the teacher.

"It's because… because I like you, Mikatora! He said, standing up too.

The teacher didn't shush him after this. The whole class went silent and they all stared at them.

"I mean…" Yuki said

"You're one of the best friends I have." He said, sheepishly sitting down.

Mika was in shock, she couldn't think of a comeback; she couldn't even chide him on using her full name.

Then the bell rang, and Mika got up and left as quickly as she could. As she walked (practically ran, actually) down the hall, she thought about what he said.

_It must have been a slip of the tongue, an accidental meaning. He _meant_ to say that he liked me as an… important friend… but the words came out wrong. Yes, that must be it. _

Mika couldn't pay attention through all the next class. Yuki's words, "_Because I like you, Mikatora!" _Kept echoing through her head the whole time. Luckily, that was the last class.

Just as Mika began to leave, a letter fell out of one of her textbooks. It read,

"I have something to tell you. Meet me on the roof.  
Yuki"

Yuki had a President meeting after school, so it was unlikely that he would ask to meet her. She looked around the room. All the girls in the class were scurrying out—and none of them would meet her eyes.

So that was it. Evidently some of the girls in class wanted to 'talk' to her when there wasn't any teachers around. _Well, if it is a fight they want, it's a fight they'll get._ Mika thought.

Mika went up to the roof as the note said, and sure enough, within a few minutes Midori and her gang appeared.

"Stay where you are." Midori said. The rest of the class's girls standing around her

"what do you want?" Mika asked, staying calm, but also preparing herself.

"Shut up!" Midori said. "Yuki isn't coming, idiot, but you will do exactly as I say. Now, put your hands behind your back.

Her blatant arrogance and over confidence pissed Mika off. Did they really think that they could beat her just with strength in numbers?

"Like hell I will!" Mika flared. "You know I'm better at Karate then you, I can take you all on. So bring it, bitch!"

"I know perfectly your karate skills perfectly well." Midori said still smiling.

"But I also know your weakness."

_Weakness? _Mika thought, she searched her brain for possible weaknesses they could know about. It was impossible that they learned her secret, right?

Midori grabbed a blue backpack from a girl next to her. What ever was in the bag was thrashing to get out. She reached inside and pulled out a small grey kitten.

"Put your arms behind your back." She said again, coldly.

"Or what?" Mika asked, uneasy now.

Midori took a cigarette out of her pocket, and lit it. (Wouldn't you know, the goody-goody Midori was a smoker!)

"Or I'll burn inside the kitties mouth—just think, it won't be able to breathe, and it will slowly suffocate to death on its own burnt flesh."

As she said this, she handed the cat to the girl next to her, and pried its jaws open, holding the cigarette.

_That bitch! No way could she do something like that to a kitten! _Mika thought.

Never the less, she put her hands behind her back- she didn't want to be responsible for something like that happening to a cat. It would be worse than anything that happened to her.

Midori signaled to a girl near her.

The girl (whom she recognized as Nana) walked up to with a coil of rope and tied her hands behind her back. As she leaned forward to tie the last knot, Mika could have sworn she heard her whisper _sorry_ very softly.

"Now then, get her!" Midori shouted.

Each girl took a swing at her, some hit harder then others. Mika was really surprised. She had thought highly of many of these girls. She hadn't thought that they were capable of such bullying. Most of the punches didn't hurt too much, though; she had worse during her training.

One girl went so far as to take an aluminum bat from the sports bin and swing it at her. It met her arm with a sickening crack. She struggled hard to not scream in pain. Her body was under so much stress, she wasn't sure if she could stay like this without exposing herself.

After every girl had beaten her to their hearts content (except, noticed Mika, Nana didn't do anything after tying her up) they all took a step back.

_Is that it?_ Thought Mika, struggling to stay standing, her arm limp at her side

Then Midori smiled. She handed the cigarette to another girl, and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a pocketknife. Now Mika began to get nervous; Midori was mean, but she wasn't a murderer, right?

She started to slowly walk towards Mika, twisted pleasure on her face, the blade glinting in the last dying rays of the setting sun.


	8. Chapter 8

Midori was walking slowly towards Mika, the blade in hand. Mika did her best to keep her eyes open, and to keep standing.

Midori stood right in front of her, and pressed the blade up to her cheek.

"Are you afraid?"

She asked, her eyes glinting with a strange light.

Mika spat the blood from her mouth.

"Don't you think you are going to far, I mean its just for a boy." Mika said, trying to stay calm. The truth was, she was afraid. She was terrified. All her thoughts went back to that day eight years ago when her father stabbed her. She wanted more then anything to go into a corner and never come out, but she didn't. She was frozen.

Midori chuckled a bit, never taking her eyes off of Mika.

"You still think this is just about Yuki?"

She asked.

Mika was too startled to respond. _What else could it be about?_

"It is YOU  we have a problem with!" she yelled, her hand jerking forward, creating a shallow cut on Mika's face. She stopped, staring at the blood and the cut she made. Shock crossed her face.

The shock comforted Mika somewhat. If she was surprised, it meant that she hadn't meant to stab her, only scare her with the knife.

Midori continued. "Not only do you bewitch our prince, but you go parading about, never talking to anyone just because you think you're _better_ than they are. Plus you are so fucking weird! You don't belong here, or _anywhere_. You say your look is natural but that just makes you a natural born freak!

Midori was just raving now, and Mika was barely listening, her concentration fixed on the knife that Midori was now flailing around—emphasizing her rants.

A girl coughed in the background. Midori seemed to come back to reality, remembering what she was going to do.

"Hold her." She said.

A girl went to hold Mika from behind- even though her hands were still bound. Mika accidentally let out a yelp in pain when the girl grabbed her injured arm. That just made the girl grasp it tighter. Now that it was being touched, it didn't feel like it was broken. That thought reassured Mika. Midori stepped closer, her face now inches away from Mika's. then she did something Mika did not expect. She sliced the knife downwards, and to Mikas extreme embarassment, through her clothes.

"what are you…?" she began, now beginning to squirm, wincing when her damn arm hurt again. Then another girl began removing her skirt, while Midori cut around her arm bindings, completely removing her shirt and bra. The girl who took off her skirt took her underwear too. Mika had never been so embarrassed. And confused! What were these sick girls doing? Then a girl balled up her clothes and threw them over the railing of the rooftop.

Then the girls all laughed. Mika stood as proudly as she could, being completely nude. A girl snapped a picture. Normally Mika would have tried to hide her scar, but right now she didn't care.

For a final act, they splashed a bucket of water over her. She stood up straight; they would win if they knew they had gotten to her. The girl keeping the cat captive threw it at her. It landed gracefully on its feet. Then the girls all went through the door, laughing.

Mika waited a few minutes until she was sure they had left. Then she walked to the door, turned her back to it and tried to open it with her good arm. It was locked. They must have barricaded it from the inside, or tied it with some more rope. In either case, she couldn't get out. The sun had completely gone down, and she was shivering with the cold. To make matters worse, there was plenty of artificial lighting, so anyone who came up would see her.

But then again, she would rather have someone find her and see her tonight, then to have her wait up here until morning when the janitors arrived. Besides, she didn't want some creepy old janitor seeing her, a high school girl, naked on a rooftop with no one else around. He might… take advantage of the situation.

She sighed, and sat down. It was going to be a long night.

The kitten came and curled up next to her. Within minutes, it was asleep. She envied the animal; it had just had a traumatizing near death experience, but already it was asleep.

Mika sighed. She would call for help, but the bullies probably hadn't left school grounds yet, and she didn't want them to have the satisfaction of hearing her screaming in desperation.

She waited for what felt like hours. Then she really regretted not calling when she had the chance. Stupid pride! She knew that calling for help now would be futile; no one would be at school this late. She curled into a ball and rubbed her arm and legs to stay warm.

The silence was broken suddenly by a very faint noise that sounded like… footsteps! It couldn't be—someone was coming up the stairs! She didn't even stop to think; Mika leapt up and ran to the door.

"Hello! Hello! Is someone there! I'm on the roof and I need help!"

She shouted, all thoughts of pride gone. She couldn't get out of this alone, and this was her only chance. The footsteps quickened; perhaps they heard her.

The door burst open, narrowly missing hitting her in the head. It was Yuki!

Its true! He said. "I didn't believe her when she said…"

His eyes then traveled downward past her face, lower… then he whipped back into the school and slammed the door shut behind him.

Mika's face was crimson with embarrassment. She was confused too. Why did he run back into the school? Was it that horrible to see her naked?

About a minute later, he opened the door again, buttoning up his shirt (that was strange, was it unbuttoned before?)

Then (keeping his eyes down) he handed her his jacket.

She put it on—the torso long enough to cover what was needed to be covered. She was thankful for that.

He then led the way down the stairs; Mika could see his ears were red.

They walked in silence, Mika had never been so angry. She was so mad at those girls for humiliating her like that!

When they got to the bottom, a thought struck her.

"Hey Yuki?" She began.

"Yeah?" he said, not looking at her.

"Did you say that someone told you that I was up there?"

"Yeah, it was really weird. Nana came into the room where I was working, and she said 'Go to the roof right now! Mika's waiting! It's super important!' and then she just ran away. I'm sorry… I thought it was a joke, and I just kind of ignored it, and finished my work. Then curiosity got the better of me and I thought I'd check it out. I'm glad I did. I'm sorry I didn't come sooner."  
"No, its ok. You couldn't have known."

Mika silently thanked Nana. She also really respected Yuki right then. He rescued her, and then didn't ask a single question.

He probably knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't say anything, though.

They were at the front of the school where a black car was parked right outside.

"Um… will you let me give you a ride? You probably shouldn't walk home like that."

He said.

She looked around for her clothes, but couldn't see them—even though she was good at seeing in the dark. Oh well. she would just have to look tomorrow.

"Thanks." Mika responded, meaning it.


	9. Chapter 9

They walked toward the car. Mika saw that the driver was a youngish man, probably twenty-seven or twenty-eight. He had black hair and was smoking a cigarette. He raised an eyebrow at her strange attire, but didn't comment.

"Who is this, Yuki?" he asked.

"Um, a friend from school who needs a ride; can we give her one?"

He sighed.

"Where does she live?"

He asked, slightly annoyed.

Mika was about to tell him, but Yuki cut her off.

"No, she needs a ride to the hospital, Hatori." He said.

"No I don't, you can just take me home." Mika said, glaring at Yuki.

"No, to the hospital. Don't think we can't see your injuries."

"No take me Home!" She said,

"No, Yuki's right, you should see a doctor, that arm looks pretty bad." The driver said.

Mika looked down at her arm, now slightly purple.

"No!" she shouted, louder then she meant. "I can't... I can't afford it."

(She hated to admit that)

"Well let me pay for it then." Said Yuki.

"No! I couldn't do that! I don't need your charity!" She shouted-- again too loud.

There were a few seconds of silence after her outburst.

"Really," she finally said, calmly. "My arm isn't broken, so I don't have to go to the hospital, and plus, I can just put it in a sling when I get home,"

"Well if you're sure…" Yuki said.

"I am," Mika replied quickly. She then gave Hatori directions to her apartment.

As soon as Mika got to school the next day, Yuki came and sat next to her.

"Where's your father, Mikatora?"

Damn.

Mika had hoped that due to yesterdays… adventure… he would have let the subject drop.

"He's at work." Mika replied.

"If you really don't want to tell me, I'll stop bugging you." Yuki replied. "But I really wish you would trust me."

"Not here." Mika whispered.

Satisfied, Yuki walked away. Mika managed to avoid Yuki for the rest of the day, and all the girls seemed to think that shunning her was a way to make her mad. They didn't speak to her, or acknowledge her existence. What they didn't realize was that Mika wanted that from the beginning.

After school she set out to work after school as usual.

She got to work and put on her uniform, and went to the janitor's closet to get a mop. On her way, however, her boss intercepted her.

"I told you what would happen if you were late again." He said, his voice disheartening. "And yesterday you didn't come at all. You didn't even phone in your absence."

"I had a very good reason for not coming sir." Mika truthfully said.

"What was it?" He questioned.

Mika hesitated. Somehow 'I was locked naked on a rooftop' didn't seem like the right thing to say. Her boss, however, took the silence as her reply.

"You were a hard worker, Mika, but you aren't the only person looking for a job. In fact, we've already found your replacement so turn in your uniform at Reception. Your last paycheck will arrive in the mail."

Then he walked away.

Mika was in shock. It happened so quickly, she couldn't even come up with a retort.

She walked home that day in a daze. _Rent, food, clothes…_ were all that were running through her head. Because the girls had torn up her uniform --that she never found. -- She was down to only one uniform, too.

She walked into her building.

"Well I'll have to give up my heater fund then." She said.

"Heater fund? Why did you need that?" Someone asked. It was her nosy landlord. She had thought the answer was obvious.

"For winter of course." She irritably replied. She was in no mood for stupid questions—this day had sucked and she was in a very bad mood.

"Why, your new place doesn't have heating either?" He asked.

"New place? Why would I need a new place? I've paid my rent…" she asked, her mind scrambling as to why she would be kicked out.

"Well, this whole place is being torn down before winter, didn't you know?"

"No I didn't know!" Mika shouted.

Yeah, the demolition notice was put in your mail slot—didn't you get it?

"No, I didn't get it." Mika said, livid.

"Oh, well I guess I didn't put it in yours then. Well. Now you know why the rent here was so cheap. Better start looking for a new place."

Mika turned around and walked right back outside.

_He's right. I'd better start looking for a new apartment. _She thought.

Could this day _Possibly _get any worse?

When she stepped outside, someone was blocking her path. It was Yuki.


	10. Chapter 10

_Could this day possibly get any worse?_Mika thought.

She looked Yuki in the face, but before she could speak, he cut her off.

"I'm sorry." He began, his voice was loud, as though he had something important to say. "I did some thinking, and I realized that what ever is going on with you and your father is your business, not mine. I shouldn't have pushed it. Once again, I'm sorry." He said, all very fast.

"Listen, Yuki?" Mika said, fighting to keep her voice even. "It's not really a secret, but I just… I guess I don't really like to talk about it. But you should know, after all, you did rescue me." She sighed. She always paid debts, even ones that didn't exactly involve money.

She took a deep breath.

"The Doctor died this summer. I guess no one informed the school about it though, and now I'm just living alone."

She said.

"Mika, I'm so sorry." He said, really looking it. "What about your mother?"

He asked, after a pause.

"The Doctor never got married." Mika said.

"Then who…" He asked, trailing off; clearly trying to avoid hurting her with an obviously tender subject.

"The Doctor wasn't my birth father. He adopted me when I was eight."

Mika said, stopping as she became aware that he had gotten much closer to her, probably so he could hear her better.

He was only a few inches away; she could reach out and touch his face without even extending her arm.

To her great embarrassment, she felt her face turn red.

_It's probably because I'm talking about my __past,__ the memory is making me flush._

Then Yuki leaned forward, his face now inches away from her own.

Mika jerked back, and Yuki instantly straightened.

"Sorry," Mika said, "I'm not used to people getting so close."

She was, of course, apologizing for moving so suddenly and obviously frightening him, but Yuki's response perplexed her. His face turned scarlet, and then he suddenly turned around and walked away.

Mika was more concerned with herself, however. For some reason, her heart was pounding. His face was so close… almost as if he was going to kiss her. But of course, she knew he wouldn't. He would never kiss someone like her.

Right?


	11. Chapter 11

She stood in front of her apartment for a long time after Yuki left. She couldn't get his face out of her head. It had been so close to hers. Every minute detail of him coming closer to her was etched into her mind- She could even remember how he smelled.

It was creepy—she never paid any attention to anyone before, but now she couldn't seem to stop thinking about him.

She kept trying to rationalize with herself.

_The only reason I think about him so much is because I don't know anyone else so he's the __**only **__one I can think of._

But really, she knew that wasn't the answer.

All she knew was Yuki was pissing the hell out of her for taking her thoughts.

She tried her best to concentrate on an apartment so she could push her thoughts of him out of her mind. Luckily, the long weekend had arrived, so she wouldn't have to see him until Monday.

The next day, she went to the library. She went to use the computer— to look up apartments. She would take care of her lack of job later.

The library was nearly empty; no one seemed to come during the day time. There was only one computer left, however; it seemed like they were more popular then the books. She sat down and began to search. She heard a cough from the computer across from hers. Out of curiosity she looked to see who it was.

Surprise surprise—it was Yuki.

He hadn't seen her, it wasn't too late to escape, all she had to do was sneak off without him noticing her…

She stood slowly, and grabbed a book from the seat next to hers, covering her face in a way that she hoped was inconspicuous. She began to walk slowly back, knowing that if even a bit of her red hair stuck out when he looked up he would recognize her. Suddenly, a voice next to her said.

"Excuse me, that's my book you've got."

"Oh sorry," Said Mika, and she handed it to the person.

To her horror, the conversation caused Yuki to look up.

"Oh hi Mikatora."

He said,

"Um, hi Yuki." She said, her eyes cast down.

"I didn't expect to see anyone I knew here." He said, and continued to make small talk for awhile. Eventually, he finished with "Well, see you at school." Then he walked away.

Mika sat back down after he left. She smiled to herself. Just what was she expecting? So Yuki saw her, it wasn't a big deal. Everything strange must have just been in her imagination. Why was she avoiding Yuki anyway? Some friend she was—simply ignoring him. There really wasn't anything between them at all.

Mika left the library, and headed to the grocery store. She bought only the basics, as usual, but while waiting in line, a new realization hit her.

In only a short amount of time, she would be homeless. Not only that, she wouldn't have a job! She previously knew that would be true, but only now it had sunk in. She began to panic. The money fell from her hands. The person in front of her noticed, and picked it up.

"You dropped this." The person said.

"What am I supposed to do?" she asked, not really talking to the person. "I have no home, no money,"

"That's great!" the stranger said. He then proceeded to tell her about how he needed a new live-in house keeper. She was in such a daze, she agreed to meet him at his house the next day.

She left the grocery store in high spirits. Not only did she have a job, but she also had a place to live! She walked down the street with a bounce to her step, she hadn't been this happy in a long time!

As she reached her apartment complex, she stopped. The full weight of what she had agreed to do hit her. _I can't believe I just agreed to meet a strange man at his house tomorrow!_

She had grown up with an unusual childhood, so she didn't have the sense of wariness most people did. But even she could see the danger in what she had just agreed to do.

The man had looked strange too—he was wearing a loose fitting Yukata and smiled really brightly when she had agreed. He had probably thought that she assumed 'housework' wasn't all she was going to be expected to do.

She needed money, but not bad enough to sell herself!

That night she couldn't sleep at all. She tossed and turned, thoughts of living on the street didn't really appeal to her. She also knew what would happen if her body was under too much stress. She had images of being found out, and undergoing strange scientific experiments.

The next morning however, a new thought struck her.

What if the strange man really was serious about wanting a house keeper? What if all the other meanings were all in her head? It really was a good offer…

In the end, she decided to walk to his house and scope it out. She would make her final decision there.

She came upon a nice, good sized, two story house. She looked at the address the man gave her. Yup, this was it.

_Shigure__Sohma, _She wondered._ What sort of man are you? _


	12. Chapter 12

_Just go in!_ She thought to herself, but her feet wouldn't take her there. She paced back in forth in front of the house, but she couldn't build up enough courage to step inside.

"Just go in!" She said to herself, aloud this time.

"Mikatora?" A familiar (not to mention surprised) voice said.

She spun around, and saw Yuki standing there.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

Just then the house door burst open and Shigure came out.

"Oh good, you're here, Yuki, I'd hoped that you would be here for this."

"How do you know Mikatora?" Yuki asked, looking from one of them to the other.

"I'm thinking about hiring her as our new housekeeper!"

"Wait," Mika interrupted. "How do you know each other?"

"Yuki's my cousin, and he's living with me; now come in." Shigure said.

She was in such a state of shock as that information registered that she unwillingly walked inside. Yuki went in too.

Shigure led them into a large room with a table in it. He motioned for Mika to sit down, and she did. Then he took Yuki into the kitchen, going on about the need for snacks, as though Mika were an unexpected guest, instead of a potential roommate.

He shut the door after Yuki walked in.

Mika knew that as soon as the door closed, Shigure would probably star t discussing her with Yuki. She knew that it was wrong, but she put her ear to the door anyway. She heard:

"I hired her because she looked like a desperate dropout." Shigure said plainly.

Mika almost walked in out of anger right there, but she remembered how she had acted in the grocery store, and realized that she would have thought the same thing.

Shigure was continuing. "But now that it's clear that you know her, are you ok with it? I mean do you think she can live here without any… incidences?"

"Yes," Yuki said after some hesitation. "I don't think that there will be any… problems…"

"Yuki are you sure? You remember last time…" Shigure sounded pretty serious.

"I remember." Yuki replied. He sounded serious too.

"But, she doesn't like being touched, so there shouldn't be a problem." Yuki said on her behalf.

Mika leaned back, confused, what were they talking about? What were they so afraid she would do?

Mika put her ear to the door again as Shigure said something.

"You don't think that she would fall in love with you though?" He asked.

"No," Yuki said almost immediately. " She won't fall in love with me."

She then heard them move.

Mika quickly jumped back from the door and sat back down where she was supposed to. Yuki's last comment bothered her, though.

How was he so sure that she wouldn't fall in love with him? I mean he didn't know what she was thinking. Of course she wasn't in love with him and never could fall in love with him, but what made him so sure?

She could be madly in love with him for all he knew, even if they were friends, it happened all the time. He was a guy and she was a girl. So even though she wasn't in love, she could be. Yuki walked back in, loosened his school tie and sat down across from her.

Mika found she couldn't take her eyes away from his face. Of course she wasn't in love with him, right?

It was like something clicked in the back of her mind. She could never stop thinking about him, she wanted him to think highly of her, she was always with him, but now she suddenly started avoiding him? From her limited experience with watching people fall in love, this sure seemed like it.

She felt her face turning red.

No, no, No! She couldn't fall in love!! She knew why, if she was hugged, her secret would be out. She couldn't bear to have him see her like that.

The little voice in the back of her head then whispered that the reason she didn't want him to see her in that state was because she loved him.

"Is something wrong, Mikatora?" he asked, He asked, tilting his head slightly to the side as his hair fell from behind his ear and his eyes sparkled in the light…. No, No, NO! what was she thinking? He was just a friend. Just a Friend! He had to be, especially if she was going to be living with him!

Wait…

Living with him. Living with The Prince, with Yuki Sohma.

It was one thing to be living with a stranger, but to be living with someone her own age, of the opposite gender, it was… scandalous! She could just imagine what everyone would say… but then, she realized something. She didn't care what they thought, she never had.

"I've decided to hire you." Shigure said suddenly, bursting her thoughts. "Gather your belongings and you can move in tomorrow. The upstairs room and bathroom will be for your private use."

Then he got up and walked further into the house. She took this to be her cue to leave and walked out, hoping to leave her thoughts behind.


End file.
